XL2 and XM2 shoot

[Keith Yuill]

hi folks, I've just purchased an XL2 (primary) and an XM2 (secondary) I've been playing about with the two and filmed a soccer match not too long ago with the XL2 on the ball and the XM2 for close up action shots. The problem is that the XM2 colour looks completely different from the XL2 especially the grass tones and team shirts which makes the edited game look patch and not very pleasing on the eyes.

The question is, can you syncronize the capture displays of the XL2 and XM2 before filming? i've tried colour correction in post production but never really gets it spot on.

Any ideas?

sorry if this is an amateurish question, we all gotta start somewhere...

[Andrew Khalil]

did you try white balancing both of them to a card or other white object? That may help.

[Keith Yuill]

I have left both as factory set assuming they were factory calibrated?

[Andrew Khalil]

white balancing both cameras to the same white card will get them a lot closer in terms of colour temperature. They don't come calibrated from the factory because the calibration is based on the specific lighting you're shooting in which leaves the job up to you.
Other than white balance, make sure other settings are the same speicifcally in terms of custom presets on the XL2 (don't use them because the GL2 is different in this regard) and the different colour tweaks that can be done in the GL2 which I would also just leave at default to simplify things.
If they still look slightly different, colour correcting in post may be the only option - it's definitly possible because I've done it between different cameras before, it just takes a little practice, but getting them as close as possible beforehand by white balancing always helps.

[Keith Yuill]

can colour be corrected by using colour bars on both cameras before the shoot then matching these in post? Does anyone have any suggestions on making colour match easier? can a colour swatch be filmed before the shoot then matched in post......any ideas?.....

[Robin Davies-Rollinson]

There's no point in trying to match colour bars since they'll remain the same since they're electonically generated. You could have any amount of different colour settings on your cameras and the colour bars would still be the same. They're only a reference to where the colour parameters should be set on a vectorscope to lay down the levels of chroma between different pieces of equipment in the production chain.
You'd be better off just matching white balance to both cameras and then using your eyes in post to finely grade the images. It's no real problem if your editing software gives you the options.

Robin

[Dale Guthormsen]

Keith,

Thanks for this post. I have been shooting a gl2 for over a year and now am shooting with an xl2 as well. I have three shoots coming up where we will use the gl2 for B roll shots. White balancing both seems obvious and Robins advice is right on.
What software are you color correcting with??

[Keith Yuill]

I'm running Adobe premiere Pro 1.5.
Any recommended techniques for colour correction in post or is it just trial and error. seems pretty time consuming to me?

[Keith Yuill]

Almost forgot... Thanks for the replies guys much appreciated. i have white balanced both and the images seem slightly closer. can't really tell if this is greatley different until I get them both on screen. Keith